Testimonials

This will be the 11th summer that TFANA has hosted Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship and Performance with funding from the NEH. Here’s what participants in past Institutes had to say:

“The TFANA-NEH summer seminar was hands-down the best professional development experience I have had in my 10+ years of high school teaching. The work–both in scholarship and performance–was challenging, invigorating, relevant, and applicable…I will bring back these approaches this year, not only in my Shakespeare unit but also in our study of literature and cultures in other areas.”

“The Institute was a life-changing / teacher-changing experience for me.”

“This was THE most powerful professional development experience I have ever had. From the quality of the professors/instructors to the organization and camaraderie of the host and her staff to the high level of scholarship and collegiality of my fellow participants, this institute was a grand slam.”

“This institute will impact my teaching for the rest of my career. I feel like I am empowered to teach Shakespeare like never before, and have the confidence and tools necessary to make it accessible for my students.”

“There are very few professional development opportunities that extend my knowledge base, connect my personal passions, renew my own love for learning, improve my instruction as a professional, and challenge me as a scholar. This institute did so.”

“It was a transformative experience in my teaching career. The techniques, approaches, concepts, and ethos of the workshop will enhance my teaching enormously and enable me to support my teaching colleagues much more effectively.”

“The combination of scholarship/research with the physical/acting/directing aspect cultivated a unique and inspirational learning environment…Going back to the classroom I feel that I am an expert in Shakespeare, and thus able to teach my students with a newfound confidence in my subject.”

“This program was ALL I’d hoped and expected it to be — and more. A high level of discourse and instruction, thoughtfully designed and sequenced. Useful strategies for the classroom. It truly was an integrated, “combined” approach to Shakespeare.”

“The instructors were excellent and my peers were equally talented and impressive. The activities were varied enough to make every day different and the assignments for the participants were both challenging and instructive.”

“It was quite literally one of the best experiences of my life.”

Questions? Contact us at education@tfana.org

A copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, which participants get to view and handle on the Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library tour.

Polonsky Shakespeare Center, home of the NEH Summer Institute

TFANA’s NEH Summer Institute is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Pictured above: A participant in the 2022 NEH Summer Institute examining a text from the 1600s in Columbia University’s Rare Book Room. Photo by Hollis King.